1. Field of the Invention:
The invention relates generally to the field of data communications and, more particularly, to a high speed modem.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
Recently, specially designed telephone lines for the direct transmission of digital data have been introduced. However, the vast majority of telephone lines are designed to carry analog voice frequency (VF) signals. Modems are utilized to modulate VF carrier signals to encode digital information on the VF carrier signals and to demodulate the signals to decode the digital information carried by the signal.
Existing VF telephone lines have several limitations that degrade the performance of modems and limit the rate at which data can be transmitted below desired error rates. These limitations include the presence of frequency dependent noise on the VF telephone lines, a frequency dependent phase delay induced by the VF telephone lines, and frequency dependent signal loss.
Generally, the usable band of a VF telephone line is from slightly above zero to about four kHz. The power spectrum of the line noise is not uniformly distributed over frequency and is generally not determinative. Thus, there is no a priori method for determining the distribution of the noise spectrum over the usable bandwidth of the VF line.
Additionally, a frequency-dependent propagation delay is induced by the VF telephone line. Thus, for a complex multi-frequency signal, a phase delay between the various components of the signal will be induced by the VF telephone line. Again, this phase delay is not determinative and must be measured for an individual VF telephone line at the specific time that transmission takes place.
Further, the signal loss over the VF telephone line varies with frequency. The equivalent noise is the noise spectrum component added to the signal loss component for each carrier frequency, where both components are measured in decibels (dB).
Generally, prior art modems compensate for equivalent line noise and signal loss by gear-shifting the data rate down to achieve a satisfactory error rate. For example, in U.S. Pat. 4,438,511, by Baran, a high speed modem designated SM9600 Super Modem manufactured by Gandalf Data, Inc., is described. In the presence of noise impairment, the SM9600 will "gear shift" or drop back its transmitted data rate to 4800 bps or 2400 bps. The system described in the Baran patent transmits data over 64 orthogonally modulated carriers. The Baran system compensates for the frequency dependent nature of the noise on the VF line by terminating transmission on carriers having the same frequency as the frequency of large noise components on the line. Thus, Baran gracefully degrades its throughput by ceasing to transmit on carrier frequencies at the highest points of the VF line noise spectrum. The Baran system essentially makes a go/no go decision for each carrier signal, depending on the distribution of the VF line noise spectrum. This application reflects a continuation of the effort initiated by Baran.
Most prior art systems compensate for frequency dependent phase delay induced by the VF line by an equalization system. The largest phase delay is induced in frequency components near the edges of the usable band. Accordingly, the frequency components near the center of the band are delayed to allow the frequency components at the outside of the band to catch up. Equalization generally requires additional circuitry to accomplish the above-described delays.
A further problem associated with two way transmission over the VF telephone line is that interference between the outgoing and incoming signals is possible. Generally, separation and isolation between the two signals is achieved in one of three ways:
(a) Frequency multiplexing in which different frequencies are used for the different signals. This method is common in modem-based telecommunication systems.
(b) Time multiplexing, in which different time segments are used for the different signals. This method is often used in half-duplex systems in which a transmitter relinquishes a channel only after sending all the data it has. And,
(c) Code multiplexing, in which the signals are sent using orthogonal codes.
All of the above-described systems divide the space available according to constant proportions fixed during the initial system design. These constant proportions, however, may not be suitable to actual traffic load problem presented to each modem. For example, a clerk at a PC work station connected to a remote host computer may type ten or twenty characters and receive a full screen in return. In this case, constant proportions allocating the channel equally between the send and receive modems would greatly overallocate the channel to the PC work station clerk. Accordingly, a modem that allocates channel capacity according to the needs of the actual traffic load situation would greatly increase the efficient utilization of the channel capacity.